We Need Hot Messes Like John Early’s New HBO Special ‘Now More Than Ever’

Early takes occasional breaks from stand-up to kick the band into gear, launching into covers of Britney Spears's "Overprotected" and Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush." The latter is sort of beautiful and unexpectedly moving. Okay, it's really unexpected since it comes on the heels of jokes about passive-aggressive iPhone permission pop-ups.

Like a pitcher changing speeds to keep a batter off balance, Early keeps mixing it up throughout his hour. Even the jokes change from the straight fastballs he throws in the beginning to the series of knuckleball musings he tosses later, a disjointed monologue of ideas held together by his band's melancholy chords, adding texture and emotion to what could have been a random series of Deep Thoughts.

Now More Than Ever is as much about attitude and atmosphere as it is about punchlines, and that's a good thing. "Are we really just a bunch of hot messes, or do they just need us to be that way?" Early asks, a question he could have asked about his own special.

Yes, it's definitely a hot mess. And yes, I think we need it to be that way.

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